| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on February 28, 2000 |
Return to the Los Altos Lodge Trestleboard TOC Page
Return to the Los Altos Lodge Papers Page
Master - From The East
Our line of Officers for the year 2000 was installed on December 29, 1999 by Most Worshipful Alvin J. Weis, Grand Master of Masons.
We also were honored by several other Grand Lodge officers, Inspectors, Committeemen, visiting masters of other lodges, several Prince Hall Masons, and many Eastern Star members who attended our installation.
We had a great time, although several people could not attend due to the nasty flu bug, which has been going around.
During 2000, you will be reading in our trestleboards some information about the "currency" of Freemasonry. I believe the true "currency" of Freemasonry is our membership. This month I will write a little about being prepared to ."close the sale."
Sale? SALE you say?? Of course I do not mean we are selling membership in Masonic lodges. Nobody can do that, or even offer that, for membership can only be obtained by a unanimous vote of the lodge. But there are techniques of salesmanship, which I find are entirely applicable to our situation.
In order for a man to become a Mason, he must fill out, and sign an Application for the Degrees. Where can he get one of those forms? I looked at the public library, but they do not have the form. Nor does the Post Office, the Social Security Administration, or any other public place I know of. The form must be given to an applicant by a member of the lodge he wishes to join. Why? Well, for starts, it has the name of the lodge, and the lodge number written on the top line, and it should have written on the outside the fees in the blank lines provided. Every Mason who is proud to be a Mason should have a blank application nearby, just in case somebody wants one. This is what I call Salesman Technique No. 1. Be prepared at all times to provide what the potential "customer" needs-in this case a blank application.
Second, every member should know the answer to four basic questions (and probably more, but at least these):
1.What is Freemasonry?
2.How do I become a member?
3.How much does it cost?
4.What are my obligations once I become a member?
We each of us must be knowledgeable about our fraternity - at least enough to answer those questions in a forthright manner, and at the same time avoid going into an entire dissertation about the history of the craft. I believe each of these questions can be adequately answered in less than two minutes, and then expanded upon if necessary.
We must be careful to not go overboard. For example, if you go to your local auto dealer, and ask about the quality of a certain automobile, do you really want to know what type of thread was used in stitching the upholstery?
We will be looking at easy ways to answer these questions, and other questions/comments. For now, let me start by saying I tell people that Freemasonry is a fraternity, which has existed for almost 300 years. It is an organization which stresses certain fundamental virtues such as brotherly love, charity (avoid the word "relief' which has negative connotations to many people), truth, justice, respect for all religions, patriotism, equality, education, and many other virtues.
These virtues are demonstrated in three ceremonies called "degrees" which a candidate must attend in order to attain full membership. What do Masons do? Our lodge is involved in the community through the Kids ID program, US Constitution Observance, and through the Scholarship program.
We also are part of a statewide scholarship program. We have many social functions, from meals and picnics, to visiting other areas of California, plus any other fun events we wish to have like a dance, going to the theater, bowling, costume parties, etc. I explain that we do anything our members want to do so long as it is legal!
That says a lot in a minute or two. I then explain that the cost of becoming a member is a once-in-a lifetime fee of $139.00, and then annual dues of $40.00. I do NOT go into a long explanation of where these monies are spent. I might say that dues amount to less than a dollar a week - pretty cheap for such a quality organization.
I then might add that the usual obligations of a member are only to pay his dues. Of course there is more, such as not violating his Masonic promises, but the meaning of that should be explained at an appropriate later time. I then add that I would NOT recommend a person apply for membership unless he planned to participate, because I believe he would be throwing away his money. The benefits of being a Mason are found by participating.
This is a way to "break the ice" with a man who knows nothing about Masonry. Certainly many questions may come up, such as why do you call it a "temple?" Why do you have "Wardens" "Deacons" a "Marshal?" What is a "Tiler?" Why are some members called "Worshipful?" Are you secret? Are you a religion? Etc. We will talk about those questions next month.
Fraternally,
Robert W. Martin, P.M.
Master
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R's:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
1O. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
Editor.
The Trustees held their meetings in November and December 1999 and are now well on their way to execute their fiduciary responsibilities to the lodge.
Our initial meetings were conducted with the primary goal of determining what the trustees are supposed to do. That is, determining their duties and responsibilities. The Trustees are comprised of three persons, each elected for a three-year term. Bruce Pruitt graciously accepted completing the term of Robert Martin, WM, which expires at the end of calendar year 2000.
I fill the second position, and my term expires at the end of 2001. Gunnar Galsgaard was just reelected to a new term which goes through 2002.
The trustees have completed research regarding their roles and responsibilities and are now preparing to complete an inventory of lodge assets. Robert Martin, WM, also assigned the trustees the task of performing the annual audit of the treasurer's books. Both of these tasks should be completed in time for the trustees to provide a report during the March stated meeting.
Many people ask the question about the roles and responsibilities between the Los Altos Masonic Temple Association (LAMTA), the brethren of the lodge, and the trustees. We can now speak to this issue in simple yet definitive terms.
LAMTA is a separate nonprofit corporation responsible for the management of the lodge building. LAMTA owns the building, the furniture, and all the fixtures, in addition to having their own bank account.
On the other hand, the lodge is a not a corporation but is a tax-exempt fraternal organization. The lodge owns their own assets which include the bank accounts, the investments, and 100% of the only authorized, issued, and outstanding common stock share of LAMTA. The trustees function as the representatives of the brethren (who own the bank accounts, investments, and LAMTA) to ensure that the assets are properly managed.
Implicit as elected representatives of the brethren, the trustees represent the "stockholders" to LAMTA To enhance communication between the lodge and LAMTA, the trustees unanimously agreed to hold regularly scheduled quarterly meetings that precede the February, May, August, and November LAMTA meetings by one hour. All members of Los Altos lodge 712 are welcome to attend the quarterly meetings. If attendance is not practical, please contact any of the trustees for anything related to management of the lodge's assets.
Fraternally,
Harold C. Bain,
Trustee
The lodge is going to try a procedure which should result in streamlining and improving the quality of our Stated Meetings. (The Grand Lodge is suggesting this at the Wardens Workshops.) After Committee Reports, we will have "Unfinished Business." Normally, this will be brief and require little discussion, as each committee involved will have provided opportunities for any brother who cares about that subject to present his views to the committee, verbally or in writing. At the Stated Meeting the committee chairman will summarize the views of the brethren and present it with the committee report. I expect that the lodge will be able to quickly vote on matters and dispatch with them, or refer them back to committee for more investigation if necessary.
"New Business" will be brought before the lodge in the usual manner (a motion, and a second.) If more than a few seconds is required to dispatch of the matter, it will be referred to an appropriate committee for proper investigation, and provide the brethren ample opportunity to be heard. This will also provide an opportunity for brethren who could not be present at the meeting to attend a committee meeting, or convey their thoughts on the subject by letter to the committee chairman. The chairman will then summarize and report the committee's findings to the lodge at the next stated meeting. A vote will be taken in the usual way, and any brother who wishes to be heard prior to the vote will be provided the opportunity, assuming he is amplifying the information provided to the committee. Of course, if new information is provided, the committee may be requested to look into the new information and report back at the next stated meeting.
As always, any emergent matters will be handled immediately.
This procedure will work well, shorten up debates and guessing during the stated meetings, make the ladies who are waiting downstairs happier, give all the members opportunities to provide input into our lodge, eliminate snap decisions, and, I expect, result in more informed decision-making.
This procedure of using our committees may be somewhat new to many of us, and I expect it will take a while to get used to. It will require a little advance planning but the benefits as I see it are large, and will benefit the entire membership. Your support will be appreciated by all!
Fraternally,
Robert W. Martin, P.M.
Master
Go to the Last Trestleboard Issue
Go to the Next Trestleboard Issue
Return to the Los Altos Lodge Trestleboard TOC Page
Return to the Los Altos Lodge Papers Page